Canadian Business turned to Professor David Sparling for insights on what entrepreneurs hope will be the next North American food fad: bug-eating!
Next Millennium Farms in Campbellford, Ont. has taken on the challenge of convincing customers to chow down on creepy crawlers and is North America’s largest supplier of edible insects. The company has already received close to $1 million in a round of financing led by Toronto-based venture capital fund Hedgewood Inc. Dozens of other recently launched North American startups are also seeing dollar signs in the edible insect industry.
While Sparling acknowledged the potential of the industry, he also warned of challenges involving health and regulation concerns.
“We just don’t know enough about insects yet,” said Sparling. “We don’t know all the diseases they’re going to be up against, and we don’t know what the insects themselves could end up eating that could introduce health threats.”
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